Restless

6 - Prom

The Friday night that Mount Olivet High School hosted its annual senior prom, Debra had found a dress at the funeral home that would probably fit Andrea. It wasn’t Disney Princess beautiful, but it would do.

Acquiring the dress hadn't been nearly as difficult as convincing Earl to give her a few pointers on how to touch up a corpse. As soon as she had brought up the subject, he'd been more than eager to help her out, but had asked way too many questions. She didn't feel right about bringing anyone else in on her and Andrea’s little mission. She owed Andrea the dignity of her privacy. After all, the girl hadn't returned to the funeral home, but to her old house. 

Most schools in the district shared one large gymnasium for the dance. Debra took the side roads to get there and, though the temperature had dropped since sunset, she left the windows down in the car. The Corolla had a sunroof, which she hadn't used yet, so she opened it to the moonless sky. Andrea's hair was pulled into a tight little braid that she let hang over her shoulder. She was wearing tinted glasses, part of her disguise, but in the limited light of the evening she looked completely natural. Debra was proud of her makeup job. If anyone asked, she would tell them that Andrea was her niece and was suffering from a debilitating disease. 

Andrea remained silent most of the journey, only occasionally squealing and then turning to point something out. Debra normally missed it, but looked and laughed as though she had seen something. The thought crept in that perhaps she and Andrea could have a life together. In the car driving in the evening to a school dance, they weren't much different from any mother and daughter. 

But a closer look at Andrea reminded Debra of tonight's purpose. Andrea wanted to see her love. Her one true love. The boy who she had spent her last moments with. The boy who would kiss her and give her a real life back.

Debra had wondered what Andrea remembered of that night, the night of her death. Was it just like some long ago forgotten dream that resurfaced?  Or was it as clear to her as yesterday?  What about all the time in the ground?  Was she aware or sleeping?

As Debra neared the gymnasium, she ran into traffic. Lines of pickups and SUVs waited to gain access to the parking lot. Debra was surprised at the number of police. They looked like a combination of Terrace’s finest and a few state troopers. As she neared the gate, a woman with a neon orange flashlight signaled her to pull to a stop. Debra wondered if the woman had seen through her rouse, if she had maybe recognized Andrea for what she was.

When Debra pulled over, the policewoman approached, bent down to her face, and said, "How y'all doin', tonight, Hun?"

"Is everything okay?" Debra asked.

"Oh, surely, hun," she said. The policewoman was short, blond, and had brown freckles over her nose and cheeks. She looked more like she should be couching a soccer team than directing traffic. "Is this your girl?"

"Girl?" she said. "No, she's my niece. She's from out of town."

"She doesn't go to school here in town?"

Debra shook her head. "Nope. She’s from Houston. She’s meeting a boy here who goes to the local high school. I know it’s strange that he didn’t pick her up, but we were really running late."

The policewoman waited a moment longer, looked out over approaching cars, and said, "Seeing as you’re from out of town, you probably don’t know this, but there’s good parking on the other side of the football stadium."

Debra thanked her and waving to the policewoman, drove to where she had been instructed to park. After she put the Toyota in park she took a deep breath. The air smelled like sweat and cheap perfume. Some kind of music echoed from the gym, but Debra could only hear the bass.